------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_____ _____ _______
/ ____| __ \__ __| ____ ___ ____ __
| | | | | | | | / __ \____ / (_)______ __ / __ \____ _____/ /_
| | | | | | | | / /_/ / __ \/ / / ___/ / / / / /_/ / __ \/ ___/ __/
| |____| |__| | | | / ____/ /_/ / / / /__/ /_/ / / ____/ /_/ (__ ) /_
\_____|_____/ |_| /_/ \____/_/_/\___/\__, / /_/ \____/____/\__/
The Center for Democracy and Technology /____/ Volume 4, Number 18
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A briefing on public policy issues affecting civil liberties online
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CDT POLICY POST Volume 4, Number 18 September 9, 1998
CONTENTS: (1) CDT Promotes Internet Advocacy in Central and Eastern Europe
(2) CDT Issues Report Finding Strong Protection For Free
Expression on the Internet Under International Human Rights
Principles
(3) Encryprion and Surveillance Concerns Raised
(4) How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe
(5) About CDT, Contacting us
** This document may be redistributed freely with this banner intact **
Excerpts may be re-posted with permission of ari@cdt.org
|PLEASE SEE END OF THIS DOCUMENT FOR INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO
SUBSCRIBE, AND HOW TO UN-SUBSCRIBE|
_____________________________________________________________________________
(1) CDT PROMOTES INTERNET ADVOCACY IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
Working through the Global Internet Liberty Campaign (GILC), a broad
coalition of Internet policy and civil-liberties organizations, CDT
cosponsored a conference last weekend entitled "Outlook for Freedom,
Privacy and Civil Society on the Internet in Central and Eastern
Europe." Held in Budapest, Hungary and addressed mainly to
non-governmental organizations, the conference attracted over 50
participants from 20 countries. The agenda included freedom of
expression; media regulation models; electronic surveillance and
encryption; affordability and access; and NGO activism. In addition
to the cosponsors, speakers included Esther Dyson, EDventure
Holdings; Eva Bakonyi, Hungarian Soros Foundation; and Sasa Mirkovic,
Director of Radio B92 in Serbia.
The conference revealed that, while most of the countries in the
region are still struggling with basic infrastructure and access
issues, policy debates on content regulation and privacy are just
around the corner. A number of countries are in the midst of
reforming their basic laws on media and communications, posing the
choice between a deregulatory, competitive and civil liberties-based
approach versus efforts to regulate the Internet as if it were a
broadcast medium.
The region's NGOs have already begun to exploit the democratic
potential of this new medium and used the conference as a means of
networking and sharing ideas and learning from their Western
colleagues about grassroots advocacy through the Internet. A number
of the organizations present asked to join GILC, taking to this
important region our fights to protect civil liberties and keep
information flowing freely regardless of borders.
More information on GILC is available at http://www.gilc.org.
_____________________________________________________________________________
(2) CDT ISSUES REPORT FINDING STRONG PROTECTION FOR FREE EXPRESSION ON
THE INTERNET UNDER INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS PRINCIPLES
At the Budapest conference, CDT Senior Staff Counsel James X. Dempsey
presented a new report, prepared for GILC by CDT and entitled
"REGARDLESS OF FRONTIERS: PROTECTING THE HUMAN RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF
EXPRESSION ON THE GLOBAL INTERNET." Release of the report coincides
with the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
which proclaimed that everyone has the right to "seek, receive and
impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of
frontiers."
The report notes that governments from Germany to China (and including
the US) have already begun to impose controls on the Internet,
threatening the potential of this new medium. But a well-established
body of international law protects the right to freedom of expression.
In addition to the Universal Declaration, regional human rights treaties
in Europe, Africa and the Americas protect freedom of expression and
give individuals the right to bring complaints against governments in
international judicial tribunals.
The report concludes that the global nature of the Internet requires a
fresh interpretation of the phrase "without regard to frontiers." Given
the Internet's uniquely open, global, decentralized and user-controlled
nature, the report concludes that international human rights principles
should be read as offering especially strong protection to freedom of
expression on-line.
To governments, the report says, "Don't try to censor the Internet
because your efforts may well violate international human rights law,
especially given the unique nature of the Internet." To free expression
activists, the paper says, "International human rights documents offer
strong grounds for challenging Internet censorship." To both, it says,
"Pay attention to the Internet's unique qualities, for they justify the
strongest legal protection."
"Regardless of Frontiers: Protecting the Human Right to Freedom of
Expression on the Global Internet," is available at
http://www.gilc.org/speech/report/
_____________________________________________________________________________
(3) ENCRYPTION AND SURVEILLANCE CONCERNS RAISED
Encryption and Internet surveillance were among other issues discussed
at the Budapest conference:
GILC members have begun a campaign urging decontrol of encryption
exports by the 33 nations participating in the so-called Wassenaar
Arrangement. The Wassenaar Arrangement, named after the city in the
Netherlands where an agreement was concluded in 1994, seeks to govern
export of conventional weapons and dual use technologies (those that
have both a military and a civilian use). GILC members are calling on
the Wassenaar countries to recognize that it is not appropriate to treat
encryption as if it were a weapon.
Conference participants also expressed concern about a proposal by
Russian agencies to impose on Internet service providers there a
sweeping requirement to assist government surveillance of e-mail and
other Internet communications. The system, known as SORM (System for
Effective Investigative Activities), would require ISPs to install
special high-speed links to security service monitoring facilities,
allowing the government to remotely monitor the communications of any
Internet user.
_____________________________________________________________________________
(4) SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
Be sure you are up to date on the latest public policy issues affecting
civil liberties online and how they will affect you! Subscribe to the CDT
Policy Post news distribution list. CDT Policy Posts, the regular news
publication of the Center For Democracy and Technology, are received by
more than 13,000 Internet users, industry leaders, policy makers and
activists, and have become the leading source for information about
critical free speech and privacy issues affecting the Internet and other
interactive communications media.
To subscribe to CDT's Policy Post list, send mail to
majordomo@cdt.org
in the BODY of the message (leave the SUBJECT LINE BLANK), type
subscribe policy-posts
If you ever wish to remove yourself from the list, send mail to the above
address with NOTHING IN THE SUBJECT LINE AND a BODY TEXT of:
unsubscribe policy-posts
_____________________________________________________________________________
(5) ABOUT THE CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY/CONTACTING US
The Center for Democracy and Technology is a non-profit public interest
organization based in Washington, DC. The Center's mission is to develop
and advocate public policies that advance democratic values and
constitutional civil liberties in new computer and communications
technologies.
Contacting us:
General information: info@cdt.org
World Wide Web: http://www.cdt.org/
Snail Mail: The Center for Democracy and Technology
1634 Eye Street NW * Suite 1100 * Washington, DC 20006
(v) +1.202.637.9800 * (f) +1.202.637.0968
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
End Policy Post 4.18 9/9/98
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
